Chương 96: Chapter Ninety-Five: Searching

Serena sat in her captain's chair, idly tapping the table as she looked at the greasy gear Allston had handed her. More than a few thoughts and concerns flooded her mind, and the simmering feeling of anxiety and dread refused to go. She couldn't help but run her mind through numerous future possibilities, ruminating on all the ways their journey could go wrong.

"Miss Thornheart approaching, Captain," Anathor said, his gruff voice snapping Serena's focus to the present.

"Ten seconds." True to his word, a few seconds later, a familiar bundle of golden energy bounced across the threshold. Well, it would be golden if Amelia wasn't in disguise. That said, even with black hair, Amelia radiated a happy energy that immediately brightened any room she stepped into.

"Hello!" Amelia called, shutting the door and approaching Serena.

"What's going on? You seem…" Amelia leant down, examining Serena with brilliant crimson eyes.

"Nervous?"

"Concerned about the trip," Serena admitted.

"Starting to think there might be other reasons why they didn't want us going Centralis-way."

"Other reasons?"

"Political."

"Hmm…" Amelia hummed.

"Oh, what's that for?" She gestured towards the greasy gear on Serena's desk.

"Right, this." Serena reached out, grabbing the slick piece of metal and holding it in front of Amelia.

"Would you mind cleaning this for me? And my hand, while you're at it."

"Mmm!" Amelia nodded.

"Sure!" Almost immediately, Serena felt her hand engulfed in the nearly imperceptible soft embrace of her girlfriend's cleaning magic. Within moments, both her hand and the gear were devoid of dirt and grease. If it weren't for a few scratches on the metal, the gear might have been able to pass as brand new.

"Impressive as always," Serena intoned with a smile, turning the gear this way and that, catching the room's aetherlight on its shiny surface.

"Thank you!"

"But…" Serena placed the gear down and looked at Amelia.

"I have a concern. Remember when you healed the entire ship, during the battle of Port Highwind?" Seeing Amelia nod, Serena continued, "Given your cleaning magic can be cast with similar vigour, I wanted to ask that you be extra careful in the future." Amelia tilted her head.

"Careful?" she asked.

"Careful. Exactly." She pointed to the gear.

"I've been talking with Allston. There are parts of the ship, such as the lift engine, which rely on lubrication and grease to operate efficiently. It could cause problems if you accidentally cleaned them with a large field spell. We'd end up needing to burn far more crystal to stay in the air. So…" Serena tapped the table, organising her thoughts.

"If the worst happens, and you have to cast another ship-wide healing spell, be careful not to clean the ship as well, understood?" She slowly breathed out, holding Amelia's gaze. Her explanation had danced around the potential problems clean metal could cause in certain situations. She'd emphasised the loss of efficiency to avoid mentioning the much worse problem: unchecked heat generation.

Serena couldn't bear to bring up the possibility that Amelia's healing and subsequent cleaning of the Asamaywa lowland slums might have caused the inferno that had made headlines Empire-wide. Numerous commercial enterprises and workshops would have been nestled among the slum's inhabitants. Many of those buildings would have had more than one steam engine operating, driving the business's machinery.

While Oshiro hadn't outright said it, he'd heavily implied that the cleaning of this machinery and the subsequent loss of lubrication had been the real cause of the fire. Maybe Amelia would eventually find out. Perhaps she would put it together herself. Hells, perhaps Serena would end up telling her one day. But… right now? Just before they were about to set sail on a perilous journey that required everyone onboard to be focused? She wouldn't want the risk.

It wasn't just about reducing risk to the crew, or even protecting Amelia's feelings; there was a selfish element to it. Serena didn't want to be the one to bring that subject up with her girlfriend, to be the one to cause her radiant smile to falter and her heart to ache at the possibility of what she accidentally caused. If that time ever comes, Serena thought, I'll be there to support her.

"Uh…" Amelia began.

"Sure. I'll be extra careful in the future! My control's pretty good now, after all the sessions we did in the academy!"

"Soon you'll be a terrifying warrior as well as a terrifying mage," Serena said, feeling her lips curl with amusement.

"How will we possibly handle you then?"

"Hey!" Amelia protested, puffing out her cheeks.

"Firstly!"—a finger was thrust in front of Serena's face—"I'm not terrifying! I might be shockingly adorable and cute, but not terrifying! And secondly"—another finger—"I'm not someone to be handled! Unless…" Amelia hesitated, her face suddenly breaking out into a wide grin.

"Unless you're doing the handling, of course!" Serena snorted.

"Shut up, idiot," she said.

"Did you get your share of the hog?"

"Mmm!" Amelia nodded enthusiastically, rubbing her stomach.

"It was delicious! I might have sneaked another portion when the Head Chef wasn't looking, so don't tell him! I don't know if it was better than the sardis or not! I can't wait to be in the South! I want to try out the new food! Maybe we can find more red loqua there?"

"Maybe," Serena mused. Red loqua was difficult to come across, even for House Halen. Her and Amelia had last tasted it when her father brought out a bottle to celebrate Serena's sanctioned lordship in Shimashina. Each Terra-Firma maintained strict export controls of the deliveries they got from the West, so in theory they should have a higher chance to encounter red loqua in Ishaq and the rest of the South. They chatted for a while longer.

With the issue of Amelia's cleaning magic settled, Serena's mind felt much lighter. Even so, there was still a level of anxiety that stubbornly remained. Even after briefing Amelia on Hillbrand's vaccination schedule the following morning, and receiving assurance that her girlfriend would be ready to heal any adverse reactions, the feeling remained. Serena stubbornly squashed her nerves, refusing to let doubt creep into her mind and cloud her judgment.

Before long, her navigation officer appeared to give her a copy of the latest weather maps, which Serena used to plot a few potential paths through the passage while Amelia meditated in the bedroom, further refining her red aura. She had an early night, looking to rest her mind as much as possible before tomorrow's journey. She could have asked for Amelia's healing, but for now, she just wanted to sleep. The next day dawned with a troubling problem. The Indefatigable hadn't made its scheduled appearance.

The Andalus Fortress and its drab and dreary skies were devoid of the Orb -class heavy cruiser and its Wark -class supply frigate. Serena was on the Vengeance's bridge, discussing options with her air tactician, Aiden, and her First Officer.

"Eight hours…" she murmured, looking down at the weather map of the Southern Passage laid out upon the table.

"It doesn't fill me with confidence… What do you think?" she asked, raising her head to look at her air tactician—a Samino man named Yamaga.

"Routes can change quickly through the passage," Yamaga said, tracing a wobbly line across the paper.

"Storm systems fluctuate and variance is high. Captain Matthews has been patrolling the passage for six months. He would have enough experience to avoid dangers. Look here." The air tactician's finger tapped a grid square on the map.

"Seventy hours ago this storm system was building and heading east. It could have easily veered into the open passage and forced the good Captain to move south, through the denser island fields. If he had to adjust his route through here, below this parallel, then it would be another six to eight hours before he breaks free."

"We could afford to wait," Dagon added.

"Hells, the crew wouldn't mind. They're busy nursing the lumps in their arms." To emphasise his point, Dagon rubbed the visible lump in his upper arm. Across the bridge, many other officers were doing something similar. The Red Fever vaccination was known to cause local irritation. There'd been a few complaints from the common sailors, but Serena's officers hadn't protested their early-morning vaccination. It was something she appreciated about her officer staff; they knew where and when to speak up.

Serena examined the map. The information they received from the Andalus Fortress detailed the last known sightings of the ever-moving island fields, and the location and direction of the various storm systems that littered the Southern Passage. Even with so many dangers labelled on the map, a path of relative safety could be identified. There was a patch of sky that drew a line through the passage, skirting the edge of the influence of both the Shattered Isles and the Southern Rift.

The main danger for an inexperienced captain was making the assumption that the path would stay there. Serena expected new weather patterns had already formed, cutting off certain parts of the passage. She would have to adapt on the fly and slip deeper into the influence of either the Shattered Isles or the Southern Rift to make progress. And of course, there were the pirates. As she thought of them, she felt a tingling of anxiety in her stomach.

"Is there any chance they were ambushed?" she asked, glancing at the air tactician. It was Aiden who answered.

"Unlikely," he said.

"From what I was briefed on by my superiors, the pirates here mostly operate jury-rigged fishing vessels, or scrap hulls they've haphazardly repaired. Even in the few cases where they field larger or more modern hulls, they don't have the facilities or expertise to maintain them for intense battle conditions."

"A well-placed ambush might only need a few good shots to execute," Yamago countered.

"Those island fields are ripe locations to hide behind. Given the reduced visibility and the reduction in aetherscope range… if they're brave enough, an attempt could be made. Then again…" The demon shook his head, tapping the table.

"The Indefatigable is an Orb -class—a heavy cruiser. That's enough firepower, wrapped up with enough homogenous rolled armour, that even a fleet of pirates would think thrice before sailing within ten klicks of it. Not only that, the Indefatigable is going to have several experienced warriors and mages on board. It's not something that can be boarded easily." He locked eyes with Serena.

"I suggest we wait. Re-evaluate the situation if they don't appear by mid-afternoon." Yamaga, Aiden, and Dagon looked at her, awaiting her decision. Serena took a few moments to commit.

"We wait," she said firmly.

"It'll give Amelia time to deal with any late reactions from the vaccine. We'll take the time to prepare to sail. I want everything locked down. Who knows how bad the weather's going to get, and"—she looked at Aiden with a sympathetic expression—"you may want a bucket near you, Officer Adachi."

"Aye, Captain," Aiden replied.

"Thank you, Captain." Aiden had managed well so far, but Serena was sure his predisposition to air-sickness would have him turning green when they sailed into the passage. The last thing she wanted was to have him throwing up on Finella and the instruments. With orders given, all that was left was to wait for the appearance of the Indefatigable and its sister ship. In the meantime, she had Allston double-check everything from the propeller shaft to the rigging.

After all, preventative maintenance now beats hurried maintenance mid-storm. She even accepted Finella's suggestion to be extra-safe and attach additional wicks to the ship's upper and lower aetherscopes. The small metal rods would help dissipate electrical charge that could build up when sailing through storms, disrupting the operation of the aetherscope. And so, they waited. For each hour that passed, the feeling of anxiety in Serena's stomach grew.

Each time her observers reported no sign of any ships emerging from the dark horizon, and each time Sensors reported no new aether signatures, she felt her nervousness rise. After a hurried lunch and a few more hours of waiting, she'd had enough. It was time for action.

"Sensors!" she barked.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Notify Andalus of our intentions to search for the Indefatigable. Request the assistance of the fortress's perimeter ships."

"Aye aye, Captain!" The sensors officer quickly began tapping out the message. A minute passed until the reply came in. From her position on the elevated part of the bridge, Serena could see Finella's expression twist with confusion.

"What is it, Officer Bright?" Serena called. Finella glanced at the sensors officer before calling out, "It's gibberish, Captain! I think… I think they're still drunk!" Serena clicked her tongue.

"Try the vessels directly!" she ordered. To her annoyance, the result was similar. The staff of the Andalus perimeter ships were either drunk and responding with nonsense or not responding at all. It was a display of gross unprofessionalism that made Serena grit her teeth. She would report this level of carelessness to the Eastern Admiralty. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. It would just be the Vengeance, then. No matter.

They were used to conducting missions by themselves.

"Stand by to make sail!" she shouted, prompting a flurry of activity as her officer staff hurried to operate their stations and communicate her order throughout the ship through both the speaking tubes and the new flipdot displays. Once she received status updates from each station, she gave the command.

"Lift off!"

"Aye aye, Captain," the Helmsman responded, adjusting one of his levers.

"Lifting off!" Serena felt the structure shudder as the lift engine spooled up, fought against gravity and propelled the Vengeance up and away from the keel blocks that held it in place. The return of the lift engine's rhythmic beating felt right. It was as if the ship itself was celebrating the return to the skies. As the helmsman operated his station, the bow of the Vengeance was smoothly directed to point at the dark horizon yonder. Serena gave a final glance at the map, confirming their bearing.

"Bearing two-sixty-five!" she ordered.

"Six thousand metres!"

"Aye aye, Captain! Two-sixty-five at six thousand metres!"

"Unfurl the sails! Let's get our fill of the trade winds before they become unpredictable!"

"Unfurling the sails!" Serena felt the vessel jerk slightly as the sails filled with the strong easterly wind. Depending on their luck, they might be able to keep the sails unfurled for fifty or even a hundred klicks into the passage. However, it wouldn't be long until they would have to furl them and rely entirely on the ship's propulsion engine. The ship approached twenty-five knots and drew ever closer to the dark horizon. The fortress and its drunken inhabitants soon faded into the distance.

As they continued their journey, an atmosphere of trepidation filled the bridge. Serena kept her voice firm, giving confident orders, refusing to let her doubts and anxiety spread any further.

"Observers! Keep an eye out. Report everything!"

"Sensors! Begin active sensing! Keep an eye on lumina interference!"

"Navigation! Keep the map updated!" Her competent staff didn't need to be told twice. They would naturally undertake these tasks without her direction. Regardless, Serena felt they would feel more reassured if she maintained an aura of control. The sky darkened as they entered the Southern Passage proper. It wasn't a sudden change, but a gradual one. The thick, heavy cloud layers obstructed both the sun from above and the glow of the lumina from below. Cold, dark-looking islands began to take shape.

The larger ones were permanent features of the passage, having long since become lumina-locked. While these were marked accurately on the map, the many smaller islands that traversed the skies were not. The observers, ever keeping a watchful eye, worked with Sensors and Navigation to prevent any sudden collisions.

"Ten-metre rock! Bearing thirty-eight! Four hundred metres above, moving eastwards!"

"Island group hiding in the mid-sky cloud layer! Bearing two-fifty! Two klicks away! Direction unknown!" Yamaga quickly absorbed the incoming information and he and his subordinates moved magnetic figures around a model of the Vengeance, keeping an updated representation of their position and surroundings in three-dimensional space. As the density of the rocks increased, Serena ordered the ship to slow to fifteen knots.

On more than one occasion, the helmsman made independent minor adjustments to give them a little more clearance. As the officers began to settle into a rhythm, the Vengeance began its grid-search of the skies, starting with where they expected the Indefatigable to appear at any moment. They traversed along the boundary between low- and mid-sky. It was low enough for the lift engine to operate efficiently, but not so low for the lumina interference to harm their search efforts.

Although the deeper they went, the worse visibility became and the greater difficulty the ship's aetherscopes had due to the growing amount of water, dust, and aether in the atmosphere.

"Visibility twelve klicks!" the sensors officer shouted.

"Aetherscope detection range, eighteen klicks!" As they continued their search, grid square by grid square, the quickly changing winds started producing more problems.

"Gusting off port! Sails luffing, Captain!" Within a few minutes of adjusting the sails, another call was heard.

"Wind's crossin' us from starboard underhull!" And then, shortly after Serena gave the order to fix that, came another series of shouts that announced a new threat. First, the sensors officer reported a high amount of aetherfield activity from somewhere in front, beyond their visual range. Then, as the minutes passed, a shout sounded from one of the observer rooms.

"Tornado sighted! Bearing five degrees! Nine-and-a-half klicks!" With unintentional coordination, Serena and most of her officer staff turned to look outside the bridge window. The observer had reported true and, by the second, the pillar of twisting, rotating air became increasingly evident. The tornado reached from the upper-sky cloud layer all the way to the lumina, where it churned up the shimmering supernatural fog, producing a localised lumina storm that crackled with energy.

"Never seen one before…" someone muttered.

"Furl the sails!" Serena commanded.

"It's rotating clockwise. We'll keep our distance and ride the wind into our next grid square!" She glanced at her officers below.

"And someone get Officer Adachi a new bucket to throw up in!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" came a chorus of replies. With efficient competency, her orders were carried out and soon the Vengeance was skirting the tornado's winds, taking advantage of its power. They reversed another dozen klicks, circling around and into a dense field of floating islands.

"Visibility, eight klicks! Aetherscope detection range, fifteen klicks!"

"Anathor," Serena said, turning and looking at the stuffed windlizard's head — Anathor's preferred means of communication on the bridge. She couldn't help but wonder how Amelia would react to seeing some of the South's flora and fauna. What would she say when she saw a real-life windlizard?

"Hmm… yes, Captain?" Anathor intoned as the windlizard's glassy eyes glowed an ethereal red.

"Is the atmosphere we're sailing through… helping the ship?"

"I think so."

"I see." Serena paused for a moment. Looking out the window, the horizon was almost black. It was as if the Southern Passage was trying to reject them, doing everything possible to send the singular message that they were not welcome. She gritted her teeth and doubled her resolve. They would continue on and complete their mission. The Vengeance always did.

"It's a bad day for visibility," Yamaga intoned.

"I've read reports that the passage can be quite clear and calm. I wonder if this cloud cover and darkness is an adverse effect from the activity of the Shattered Isles?" The air tactician looked at Serena and continued, "We may wish to consider slowing down further, if visibility continues to reduce."

"Mmm." Serena thought for a moment. She was about to give the order when a sudden idea sparked in her mind.

"Anathor."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Tell Amelia to come to the bridge." After a few seconds, the windlizard's eyes flashed as Anathor said, "Informed her. She's on her way, Captain." Amelia soon appeared.

"Hello," the disguised healer said.

"You called?"

"Do me a favour," Serena began, keeping her voice low.

"Go into the observation rooms and see what you can see, using your… you know, your vision." As she emphasised the last word, Amelia's eyes widened in understanding. From what Serena had been told, the Shimmer was a world of sepia light that didn't have its skies limited by the atmospheric dust that was so hampering their vision right now. Amelia bounced into the starboard room and, within seconds, shouted out, "There's a tornado! It's massive!"

"Where?" Serena strode into the room, squeezing past the observers to stand next to Amelia, who was looking into the dark abyss of the passage, at a bearing of perhaps forty degrees. It was a completely different direction from the tornado they had just finished skirting past.

"How far away?"

"Umm…" Amelia was silent for a few seconds.

"You know the distance until you can't see anything further. About four, maybe five times that." So between forty and fifty klicks away. Far beyond even their aetherscope detection range.

"Oh my!" Amelia suddenly chirped.

"What?"

"It's actually three tornadoes! As in…" Amelia's voice grew excited as she tried to model it with her hands.

"Three tornadoes twisting around each other to form one big one! Oh, the lumina below is absolutely chaotic! It's so colourful! There's so much ochure! We should really avoid that!" Three tornadoes? Twisting around each other? Wasn't that—"How can you see so far?" one of Serena's observers suddenly asked, interrupting Serena's thoughts.

"It's a magic thing!" Amelia answered, casting a glance towards Serena.

"Captain…" a voice said slowly. It was Yamaga. The air tactician had appeared at the entrance to the observer room.

"That sounds like a tri-cone. But, if it's there…" He trailed off, vanishing back into the bridge. Serena followed him to find him examining the maps.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing to the storm system they had looked at earlier.

"The storm system must have veered south. They must have merged! But… by the Empress… a tri-cone! We could have fallen into range before it became visible!" Serena raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think the Indefatigable could have been caught? If their visibility and aetherscope range were as reduced as ours, they might not have noticed until it was too late."

"Maybe," Yamaga replied with a tense expression.

"But, if they noticed, and Captain Matthews should have noticed, then they would have gone south into this island field here"—Yamaga jabbed a point on the map less than thirty klicks from their current location—"in an effort to avoid it. It's the only destination that makes sense, given the tri-cone's rotation. The thing is, that's a dense field. It's possible they had a collision. They might be anchored up somewhere, trying to weather the storms until it clears. Of course, they might have…"

He trailed off, giving Serena a complicated expression. She didn't need him to continue. She knew what he was implying. If Captain Matthews had been caught by the tri-cone, or if they had a bad collision with an island that snuck up on them, then it was quite possible the Indefatigable and its crew were exploring the fabled under-sky.

"Anathor, didn't you see it?" Serena challenged the windlizard.

"I was about to inform you…" grumbled the Formless.

"Miss Thornheart beat me to it. She has excellent perception, as you know."

"Yes," Serena said with a nod.

"She has. I should have used her earlier. Amelia, come here!" Once her girlfriend was in front of her, Serena gave her further instructions.

"Keep using your vision. Call out any tornadoes you see, no matter how far away they are. We're going to enter an area with many islands. Keep an eye out for anything that isn't natural. Any sharp edges or bits of colour that look unusual. Anything that gives off light. We're looking for a sign of Captain Matthews' ship."

"Sure!" Amelia nodded enthusiastically. And so, the search continued. Amelia did her task dutifully and quickly integrated herself into the operation flow. Serena's observers would identify the closer threats: incoming debris and islands floating through the sky. Amelia would identify the distant threats before they drew too close. They didn't encounter another tri-cone, but Amelia helped plot the direction and distance of more than a dozen tornadoes.

With her help, they were able to navigate through the mass of islands. Slow and steady, Serena thought, as they finished covering another grid square. Slow and steady. As they progressed with the search, with their eyes and ears seeking out any sign of the Indefatigable, the atmosphere slowly worsened. No one would admit it, but Serena knew they all thought the same thing. Would the Indefatigable really have made it this far?

"I see a ship!" Amelia shouted with excitement, her sudden enthusiasm cutting through the bitter atmosphere like a hot knife through butter.

"I think! Well, the top of one! I can see the round aetherscope bit!"

"Where!?" Serena hurried to the portside observation room, where Amelia was bouncing on her toes like an excited peeka.

"There! About ten kilometres! It's just out of visual range. Give it a moment…" After a few seconds, Amelia continued, "You can see it with normal vision now! Just past the large island there. The one that looks like the Dragon, you see it!?" Serena pushed her aura into yellow, doing her best to look past all the atmospheric dust and water. She eventually found the island Amelia was talking about.

It was a vague shape against the black void beyond, with spiky mountain tops that, admittedly, did look a little like the Dragon's horns. And reaching over those mountain tops was the distinctive shape of a ship's upper superstructure and its bulbous aetherscope. Not just any aetherscope, but one that looked like the right size to be part of a heavy cruiser. It certainly wasn't the kind of aetherscope you would find on a jury-rigged pirate vessel.

"Helmsman!" Serena shouted.

"Bear left by thirty degrees!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" came the noticeably more cheerful reply.

"Bearing left by thirty degrees!"

"Bring us up another five hundred metres!" With the order confirmed, the Vengeance realigned itself, rising higher through the storm-filled airspace to level with the mysterious ship. By now, the island was close enough to be seen by the rest of the staff, and a few cheers sounded from the bridge.

"It's moving!" someone shouted.

"It's sailing under its own power!" Serena tore her eyes back to the horizon and saw that the top of the superstructure was indeed moving left. As if on cue, the bow of the distant ship slowly became visible as it revealed itself from the cover of the island. Had the ship's aetherscope detected them? Were they reacting to the Vengeance's presence? With bated breath, Serena watched more of the ship's hull become visible. Then, just as the turrets began to show, the large white lettering appeared.

There was an I, followed by an n …

"It's the Indy!" Yamaga shouted.

"It's her! That's an Orb- class if I ever saw one! But…" The air tactician peered out the bridge windows.

"Where's her sister frigate? Was she lost?"

"Sensors!" Serena called out.

"Broadcast our identification code! Ask them for their status!" As soon as she was done speaking, the sensors officer quickly tapped out the aethergram. Despite the aetherfield interference, the Indefatigable should be able to receive their message at a range of six or seven klicks. The Vengeance's officer staff waited with bated breath. There was no reply.

"Their aetherscopes might be misaligned," someone suggested.

"Tri-cone could have damaged them." At their words, a few murmurs of agreement sounded from their colleagues. Ah. Why was the knot in her stomach suddenly flaring up?

"Anything? Not even their identification code?" Serena asked. Seeing Finella shake her head, she commanded, "Send another request. Use the ship's aetherlights as well."

"Aye aye, Captain." As Finella tapped out the message, the area was slightly illuminated from the flashing of the Vengeance's communication aetherlight. While visibility was limited, the crew of the Indefatigable would be able to see the request clearly. A minute passed and there was still no reply. And then, as they drew even closer, Serena's blood ran cold.

"Captain…" Thorne said quietly.

"The guns…" She could see it too. The Indefatigable's turrets were lacking their dust covers. Suddenly, Serena felt very cold, the knot in her stomach felt like it was going to explode. Focus, she thought, pushing it down. Focus until victory.

"Anathor!" she shouted.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Sound the general alarm!" she roared. She hesitated for only a fraction before continuing.

"Battlestations!"